Basin Libertarian consoles GOP

A Libertarian in Jeremy Ranch who unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the Utah House of Representatives offered his condolences to the Republican Party after Sen. John McCain clobbered presidential contender Mitt Romney Super Tuesday.

"McCain is certainly not a fiscal conservative," Gary Shumway said, chuckling that "(President) Bush said John McCain is a true conservative."

He sarcastically offered sympathies to the Republicans because of momentum gained by McCain.

"The Republican Party — I don’t know if it has ever been limited government," Shumway said. "Every time people get into power, they just increase the size of government."

A funeral wreath was sent by Libertarians to Republican headquarters after McCain throttled Romney in several state primaries. McCain battled Romney, Mike Huckabee and candidate Ron Paul for the nomination in Utah.

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"That’s a very nice touch in handing out the wreath," Shumway said. "Small government would be nice, but I’m not sure when that’s going to happen."

He said he supports Paul because Paul has pledged to disband the IRS and some cabinet positions.

"Nobody else is saying any of that kind of stuff," Shumway said.

Shumway spent more than $10,000 campaigning as a 3rd-party candidate for a seat in the Statehouse in 2006.

"We definitely need some Libertarians in office," Shumway said.

Libertarians claim to be the nation’s 3rd largest political party, which was founded in 1971.

"We simply felt the need to express our heartfelt sympathy for the Republican Party as they undergo this tough time within their party," Libertarian Party National Media Coordinator Andrew Davis said in a press release about the wreath sent to the GOP.

"Given that it has become readily apparent that Senator McCain will soon be the presidential nominee for the Republican Party, we the staff at the Libertarian National Committee, send our condolences to you upon the death of small-government principles with the GOP," reads the card that accompanied the wreath.

Libertarian who claim to encourage competition within the free market and politics say they’re at odds with McCain’s "big-spending practices of the Bush administration."

"McCain’s Super Tuesday win marks the death of limited government values within the Republican Party, which had struggled with its principles throughout the Bush administration," Libertarian Party Executive Director Shane Cory said in the press release.